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MIKOYAN MIG - 15

On November 8, 1950, nearly five months after
the outbreak of Korean War, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Russell Brown shot down a Soviet
built MIG-15 over South Korea in what is believed to have been the first all-jet aerial
dogfight in history. Apparently Brown was either very skillful or very lucky, for he flew
a Lockheed F- 80 Shooting Star, and the F-80 was no match for the MIG -15 jet fighter.

First tested in 1947 and put into production
the following year, the MIG -15- named for its Soviet designers, Mikoyan and Guryevich --
was probably the finest jet fighter flying at the time. With its 33 - foot wings and
its tail assembly swept back at a striking 42- degree angle, and powered by a Russian copy
of a Rolls-Royce jet engine, the MIG -15 could top 650 miles per hour and climb almost two
miles a minute to its 50,000 - foot operating ceiling. The 36.5- foot-long fighter was
armed with a single 37-millimeter and two 23-millimeter cannons mounted under its nose.

The plane was based on research conducted
several years earlier in Germany. German engineers had tested the swept-wing design and
found that it could reduce high-speed buffeting. Later the Russians acquired this
information.

However, they lacked a suitable jet engine to
complement their advanced design. England helped solve this problem by sending
Russians a sample of their powerful Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet. The Russians swiftly
began producing a close facsimile of the Rolls-Royce engine and soon were able to
manufacture the MIG -15 in quantity.

The plane became the first jet fighter to be
placed in widespread service in Russia. Not only did it become Russia's primary jet
fighter, but it was also supplied in large numbers to Russian satellite countries.

It made its first public appearance during
the Korean War, when its shocked the western world with its outstanding performance. Until
the United States Air Force introduced the F-86, the MIG-15 reigned supreme in the sky
over Korea. Some authorities believe that as many as 18,000 MIG -15s were
manufactured, making the plane the most widely produced jet fighter in the World during
the early 1950s.

The preceding information was extracted from the pamphlet,
"The Great Airplanes Sterling Silver Miniature Collection", published by The Franklin Mint, 1979.
Permission was granted to ALLSTAR by The Franklin
Mint to use the preceding materials.ALLSTAR maintains the copyright for the format in which the material is presented.